Editing Benedetto Marcello (section)

==Writing==
Marcello vented his opinions on the state of musical drama at the time in the satirical pamphlet ''[[Il teatro alla moda]]'', published anonymously in Venice in 1720. This little work, which was frequently reprinted, is not only extremely amusing, but is most valuable as a contribution to the history of opera.

{{blockquote|... he directed his satire not against the opera as such but only against the slovenly routine and the abuse that had crept into opera production. He spared nobody and attacked composers, singers, directors alike, down to the last stage hand. The vivid picture he draws would in many ways apply also to the modern operatic "tradition" which according to [[Gustav Mahler]] is identical with "Schlamperei" (sloppiness). Marcello presented his vitriolic suggestions in an ostensibly serious tone and revealed by implication more about the musical and social aspects of opera than other authors did by factual reports. The bitterest attacks were leveled against the [[castrati]] who visibly embodied the most abusive side of opera. Their singing was derisively called "capon's laughter". Outside of Italy they were sometimes beaten up in the streets, not because of their singing but because of economic jealousy and the social injustices for which they stood.<ref>Manfred Bukofzer, Music in the Baroque Era, p. 400. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1947. {{ISBN|0-393-09745-5}}</ref>}}